Hermetic service valve



Sept. 22, 1964 J- w. MULLINS 3,149,817

HERMEIIC SERVICE VALVE Filed May 31, 1962 l IIU 28 llllll 32 FIG. 3

JOHN W. MULLINS INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,149,317 l-IERMETIC SERVICE VALVE John W. Mullins,105th) Sunnymeade Place, Oklahoma tlity, Okla. Filed May 31, 1962, Ser.No. 198,785 2 Claims. (Ci. 251-1493) The present invention relates tothe refrigerating industry and more particularly to refrigerant hermeticservice valves.

. It is frequently necessary to check the refrigerant contained by arefrigeration system to determine the trouble or reason why the unit isnot functioning properly. Many sealed refrigerating systems are notprovided with service valves on either the high pressure or low pressurerefrigerant conductor. Some of the reasons why the refrigerating systemfails to function are on the low pressure side of the refrigerator andinclude a broken discharge or suction valve, stopped-up capillary tubeand moisture in the system. It is highly desirable to provide a meansfor ascertaining the amount of refrigerant, or lack of it, contained bythe system or to determine on which side of the compressor the troublelies without disassembling the system.

It is, therefore, the principal object of the instant invention toprovide a service valve which may be easily and permanently connected toa refrigerant conductor line on either the high or low pressure side ofthe compressor or on both sides.

Another object is to provide a service valve which may I be connected bybrazing or soldering to existing sealed or open type refrigeratingsystems without damaging the valve by the heat applied to the valve inmaking the conneotion.

A further object is to provide a valve of this class which permitsservicing refrigerant lines of refrigerating systems of any type andsize of system.

An additional object is to provide a service valve which may berepeatedly used for adding or removing refrigerant to or from thesystem.

Still another object is to provide a service valve which is relativelysmall in overall dimensions thereby requiring very little additionalspace and rendering the valve adaptable for use in confined areas suchas air-conditioners installed on automobiles or the like.

In testing refrigerating units for malfunction, it is frequentlynecessary to remove the unit housing cover in order to reach servicevalves in the conductor lines; therefore, when the housing cover isremoved and the unit is in operation, a false or inaccurate reading ofthe system condition is obtained, which is occasioned by the removal ofthe housing cover allowing currents of air to by-pass the condensercoils other than those currents that are drawn or forced across thecondensing coils when operating normally with the cover closed.

Still another object is to provide a service valve which, wheninstalled, remains a part of a refrigerant system and which in no wayaffects the operation of the system yet permits servicing of the system.

Yet another object is to provide a service valve which includes a pinthreadedly engaged with a valve body and having a beveled end portionadapted for seating and unseating engagement with a cooperating seat inthe valve body by rotation of the pin.

A further object is to provide a service valve having a tube wallpiercing projection formed on its innermost end for puncturing the wallof a refrigerant line to which the valve body has been connected wherebynone of the refrigerant gas is lost or wasted in connecting the servicevalve to the refrigerant line.

The present invention accomplishes these and other objects by providinga tubular housing having a counterbored end and having its other endportion adapted to be connected with a refrigerant line. Thecounterbored end of the housing is internally threaded for receiving agas by-passing valve pin.

Other objects will be apparent from the following description when takenin conjunction with the accompanying single sheet of drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of the device connected with a fragmentof a refrigerant line and illustrating, pantly in cross-section, itsconnection with a valve depressor;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view, to an enlarged scale, takensubstantially along the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIGURE 3 is an elevational view of the valve pin, per se; and

FIGURE 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view, to a similarly enlargedscale, illustrating an alternate embodiment of the device connected witha fragment of a refrigerant line.

Like characters of reference designate like parts in those figures ofthe drawings in which they occur.

In the drawings:

The reference numeral 10 indicates the device, as a whole, comprising atubular housing 12 having one externally step diametered end portion 14and externally threaded adjacent its other end, as at 16. The housing 12includes an intermediate hexagonal portion 18 for receiving a wrench, orthe like. The threaded end portion of the housing is provided with anexternal beveled portion 20 for sealing with a resilient seat 19 withina connector 21 of a conventional valve depressor 22 which is threadedengaged with the housing threads 16.

The housing 12 is connected to one end of a refrigerant line 24 byinserting one end of the line 24 into the bore of the step diameteredend of the housing 12 or, when connecting the device with largerdiameter refrigerant lines, one of the step diameters 14 may be insertedinto the cooperating bore of the refrigerant line.

The externally threaded end portion of the housing is counterbored, asat 23, to form a seat 36 and is internally threaded, as at 31, forreceiving a cylindrical like valve pin 26. The inwardly directed endportion of the valve pin 26 is diametrically reduced with respect to thediameter of the counterbore 23 to form an annular space 27. The inwardend portion of the pin 26 is tapered, as at 28, for cooperativeengagement with the valve seat 30. The outwardly disposed end portion ofthe valve pin 26 is similarly diametrically reduced with respect to thesize of the counterbore 23 and projects outwardly beyond the adjacentend of the housing. This outwardly directed end portion of the valve pinis transversely slotted, as at 32, for receiving the valve depressingend portion 34 of the valve depressor 2.2. The valve pin 26 is furtherprovided with a longitudinally extending slot 36, aligned with the slot32, which extends inwardly beyond the threads 31 and communicates withthe annular space 27.

FIGURE 4 illustrates an alternate embodiment of the valve pin, indicatedby the numeral 26A. In this instance the free end of the housing stepdiameter portion 14 is soldered, as at 38, to the periphery of arefrigerant line 24A. The inwardly directed end portion of the pin 26Ais provided with an axially connected elongated shaft portion 40,diametrically reduced with respect to the bore of the housing and as thepin 26A is threadedly screwed into the housing 12, the pointed end 42pierces the adjacent wall portion of the refrigerant line 24A to form ahole therein before the tapered surface 28 seals with the housing seat30.

Operation The operation of the device is quite simple.

Referring more particularly to FIG. 2, the device 10 is connected withthe refrigerant line 24, as described hereinabove, and a depressor unit22, connected by its tubing 44 to a source of refrigerant gas, isconnected to the threaded end of the housing 12. The tubing 44 and valvedepressor end portion 34 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction, ina valve pin thread unscrewing direction which unscrews the pin 26 andseparates the tapered end '28 of the valve pin from the seat 30.Refrigerant gas then enters the refrigerant line through thelongitudinal valve pin slot 36 and annular space 27. When therefrigerant line 24 has been sufficiently charged, the depressor tubing44' is rotated toward the right, in a valve pin threaded tighteningdirection, which reseats thevalve pin 26, thereafter the depressor unit22 is disconnected from the housing 12.

Operation of the alternate device, shown by FIG. 4,

is similar to that described hereinabove for FIG. 2.

After the housing 12 has been connected to the refrigerant line 24A, thepin 26A is threadedly inserted into the housing and tightened until thepin seat 28 contacts the housing seat 30 wherein the sharpened end 42 ofthe shaft 4t) has pierced the refrigerant line Wall. The depressor unit22 is similarly connected to the housing 12 and rotation of thedepressor tubing 44, in a valve pin unscrewing direction, unseats thevalve pin seat 28 from the housing seat 30 and simultaneously removesthe pointed end portion 42 from engagement with the refrigerant linewall 24A thus permitting passage of refrigerant gas through the valveslot 36 and annular space 27 into the refrigerant line 24A through thebore of the housing.

Obviously the invention is susceptible to some change or alternationwithout defeating its practicability, and I therefore do not wish to beconfined to the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings and describedherein, further than I am limited by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A hermetic service valve for a refrigerant system having refrigerantconducting lines, comprising: a tubular valve housing having a stepdiameter reduced end portion, said housing having external and internalthreads adjacent its other end portion and having an outer tapered seatformed on the outer surface of the last mentioned end portion; an innertapered valve seat formed on the wall of the bore of said housingmedially the length of the latter; a valve pin threadedly engaged withthe inter- N nal threads in said housing, said valve pin having a seatformed on its innermost end sealing with the inner tapered seat in saidhousing, said valve pin having a longitudinal slot forming a gaspassageway between said valve pin and the threaded wall of said housing,the end of said valve pin opposite said seat projecting outward beyondthe end of said housing opposite its step diametered end and having atransverse slot in its end opposite said seat; and a valve depressorconnected with said housing, said valve depressor including a connectorthreadedly engaged with the external threads of said housing, aresilient seat within said connector contacting the outer taperedseat ofsaid housing in sealing relation, a tubular member journaledby the endof said connector opposite its connection with" said housing, saidtubular member having a valve depressing end portion freely received'bythe transverse slot in the end of said valve pin whereby saidtubularmember may be manually rotated in opposing directions within saidconnector for seating and unseating said valve pin;

2. Structure as specified in claim 1 in'which the step diametered endportion of said tubular housing is adapted to be secured to theperiphery of one said refrigerant line and in which said valve pin isprovided with-a diametricallyreduced elongated shaft portion coaxiallysecured at one end to the end 'portion of said valve pin forming theseat and projecting, at-its other end, beyond the connected end of saidtubular housing, said shaft portion having a conical-shaped pointed endpiercing and entering said refrigerant line when said valve pin'isseated on the inner tapered seatof said housing wherein rotation of saidvalve depressor tubular member, ina counterclockwise direction, unseatssaid valve pin and withdraws the conical-shaped point of saidshaft fromsaid refrigerant line.

References (liter! in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS987,001 Lukens Mar. 14, 1911 1,716,195 Stockstrom June 4, 1929"1,830,894 Ullstrand Nov. 10, 1931 1,984,375 Johnston Dec. 18, 19342,827,913 Wagner Mar. 25, 1958 2,952,270 Fulton Sept. 13, 1960 FOREIGNPATENTS 505,046 Great Britain May 4, 1939

1. A HERMETIC SERVICE VALVE FOR A REFRIGERANT SYSTEM HAVING REFRIGERANTCONDUCTING LINES, COMPRISING: A TUBULAR VALVE HOUSING HAVING A STEPDIAMETER REDUCED END PORTION, SAID HOUSING HAVING EXTERNAL AND INTERNALTHREADS ADJACENT ITS OTHER END PORTION AND HAVING AN OUTER TAPERED SEATFORMED ON THE OUTER SURFACE OF THE LAST MENTIONED END PORTION; AN INNERTAPERED VALVE SEAT FORMED ON THE WALL OF THE BORE OF SAID HOUSINGMEDIALLY THE LENGTH OF THE LATTER; A VALVE PIN THREADEDLY ENGAGED WITHTHE INTERNAL THREADS IN SAID HOUSING, SAID VALVE PIN HAVING A SEATFORMED ON ITS INNERMOST END SEALING WITH THE INNER TAPERED SEAT IN SAIDHOUSING, SAID VALVE PIN HAVING A LONGITUDINAL SLOT FORMING A GASPASSAGEWAY BETWEEN SAID VALVE PIN AND THE THREADED WALL OF SAID HOUSING,THE END OF SAID VALVE PIN OPPOSITE SAID SEAT PROJECTING OUTWARD BEYONDTHE END OF SAID HOUSING OPPOSITE ITS STEP DIAMETERED END AND HAVING ATRANSVERSE SLOT IN ITS END OPPOSITE SAID SEAT; AND A VALVE DEPRESSORCONNECTED WITH SAID HOUSING, SAID VALVE DEPRESSOR INCLUDING A CONNECTORTHREADEDLY ENGAGED WITH THE EXTERNAL THREADS OF SAID HOUSING, ARESILIENT SEAT WITHIN SAID CONNECTOR CONTACTING THE OUTER TAPERED SEATOF SAID HOUSING IN SEALING RELATION, A TUBULAR MEMBER JOURNALED BY THEEND OF SAID CONNECTOR OPPOSITE ITS CONNECTION WITH SAID HOUSING, SAIDTUBULAR MEMBER HAVING A VALVE DEPRESSING END PORTION FREELY RECEIVED BYTHE TRANSVERSE SLOT IN THE END OF SAID VALVE PIN WHEREBY SAID TUBULARMEMBER MAY BE MANUALLY ROTATED IN OPPOSING DIRECTIONS WITHIN SAIDCONNECTOR FOR SEATING AND UNSEATING SAID VALVE PIN.